Mission to Nexus
The Mission to Nexus was a mission during Operation: Hollow Storm involving Delta-One traversing the Nexus Highway in order to reach the Locust capital of Nexus and activate JACK's beacon, giving the COG Army the location of the Locust stronghold to start the second-wave assault. The battle also involved an AWOL mission to liberate the nearby prison camp due to the personal search and rescue of Cpl. Dominic Santiago's wife, Maria Santiago. Prelude Following the failure of locating the Locust stronghold during the Assault on the Inner Hollow, Chairman Richard Prescott declassified an intel file revealing a decommissioned COG outpost, the New Hope Research Facility that contained the information on the Locust stronghold. Delta-One was directed to the information which detailed the relocation of the facility's "subjects" to the underground caverns of Mount Kadar. Delta-One used a Centaur to travel to Mount Kadar. Upon entering the underground caverns of Mount Kadar, Delta-One discovered a Stranded group led by Chaps, the former owner of the Aspho Gas Station. Upon interrogation, Delta-One learned that across the underground lake was the highway that led to Nexus, the Locust capital. Before departing, Cpl. Dominic Santiago asked Chaps about the information regarding his missing wife, Maria Santiago. Chaps revealed that she was possibly part of another Stranded group in the caves led by Stu, but the entire group was captured and taken to the labor camp next to the Locust Highway. Cpl. Dominic Santiago and Sgt. Marcus Fenix traveled to the highway to find Nexus. After crossing the Mount Kadar underground lake, Delta-One discovered the Nexus Highway. Upon witnessing the Locust troops heading west, Sgt. Fenix surmised that they are heading toward Nexus. However, Cpl. Santiago reminded Fenix that the labor camp where Maria could be at was located at the highway near the dam. Sgt. Fenix reminded Cpl. Santiago that they needed to stick to the mission and could not jeopardize getting killed and failing to end the war. Cpl. Santiago reminded Sgt. Fenix of attempting to rescue his father during the Fall of Ephyra and how he was there for him. Sgt. Fenix remembered and agreed to help Santiago find his wife. Order of Battle Liberation of the Highway Prison Camp After navigating the dam, Delta-One discovered the labor camp at the foot of the dam. Delta-One neutralized the outside forces guarding the prison and located a prisoner database. Using JACK, Cpl. Santiago was able to find Maria's file, solidifying Chaps' intel and her location within the prison. Sgt. Fenix informed Control about their progress on finding Maria. Delta-One followed a Locust patrol on rounds inside the prison and checked for the correlating Locust terminals for Maria's cell block. After following the patrol, Delta-One was able to neutralize the patrol and locate Maria's cell block. Cpl. Santiago and Sgt. Fenix repelled a Locust attack while JACK searched for Maria's cell. Eventually, JACK found Maria's cell and opened it for Dominic Santiago. Maria emerged from the cell, emaciated, tortured, scarred, diseased and lobotomized and was a victim of Locust processing. Cpl. Santiago tried to reason with Maria, but was unable to reach her. Sgt. Fenix consoled Cpl. Santiago and advised him to do the right thing. Santiago euthanized his wife by shooting her in the head. Sgt. Fenix allowed Santiago to grieve. During his grief, Sgt. Fenix thought about their next steps in the mission. Fenix theorized that he and Santiago could dress up as Theron Guards and go unnoticed on the highway and Nexus. After Santiago managed to compose himself, Sgt. Fenix revealed his possible plans with Santiago, but wouldn't rule out going in on a full-scale assault to avenge Maria. Santiago agreed to the assault, wanting to destroy the Locust for what they did to Maria. Battle of the Nexus Highway Following Maria's euthanasia by Cpl. Santiago, he and Sgt. Fenix traversed the Nexus Highway. The first two sections were stretches of roads occupied by the Locust guards. The third section was a set of stairs joined by a drawbridge to cross the underground river. The fourth section was another Locust prison camp where the prisoners were tortured, killed and dismembered to feed the Bloodmounts. The fifth section was a bridge occupied by a Locust squad and Brumak. After Delta-One neutralized the squad and Brumak, they were unable to cross the bridge and had to use the underpass. Another prison was located in the underpass of the bridge and Delta-One discovered a lone prisoner inside, Franklin Tsoko who happened to be a friend of Cpl. Santiago. Tsoko was freed and allowed to fight with Delta-One all the way to Nexus. Delta-One and Franklin Tsoko fought through more squads of Locust and eventually came to the Highway Intersection outside Nexus. After fighting an onslaught of Locust squads, Delta-One prepared to invade Nexus with Tsoko refusing to go deeper into the Hollow with Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago. Delta-One continued inside the fortress and arrived at the Locust capital city of Nexus. Aftermath Sgt. Fenix and Cpl. Santiago successfully managed to infiltrate Nexus and activate JACK's beacon near the Royal Palace, initiating the second wave of Operation: Hollow Storm with the COG troops landing into Nexus and taking the Locust Horde on in their stronghold.